"Pass the Reins"

The saddest man who never can,

Find his place it seems,

Looks here and there but then I swear,

Gives up on all his dreams.

Why, you say, must it be this way,

I’ll tell you what is true,

Unless a man does all he can,

To please God he’s a fool.

It starts with trust, believe he must,

To get the grace he needs,

And then obey, it’s the only way,

To harvest righteous seeds.

And cowboys, too, will find It’s true,

When they simply pass the reins,

To Jesus who knows what to do,

To give us heaven’s gains.

So ride for Him from where we’ve been,

Filled with the Spirit, see,

We’ll whoop and spur let none deter,

And be what He says be.

A horseback man who knows God’s plan,

And to the end we’ll ride,

Find God’s best, pass every test,

Till we reach the other side.

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up the cross, and follow Me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?’” (Matthew 16:24, NLT)

When we hold on we lose. When we let go we gain. Control is an illusion on its best day. We convince ourselves that we can handle life by enthroning our egotism. But we really do not make a better god than God. Jesus put it simply, give up your own way and take up your cross. He called them to die to themselves so that they could ultimately live. Gaining the whole world is meaningless if in the process you lose your soul forever. Is anything worth more than your soul? According to Jesus your soul is worth the price He was willing to pay, His own life. Don’t waste what Jesus did on trivial pursuit. Follow Him.

Art by R.S. Riddick, used by permission. Thanks, Mr. Riddick, and God bless you.